How to install Oblivion mods
I will take you step-by-step through the process of installing mods for Oblivion, and soon you will be gaming like the rest of us! Note that these instructions are based on Windows 7
- Install Oblivion, and for this tutorial we will be using this path 'C:\Games\Bethesda Softworks\Oblivion'. If you installed your game into your program files folder (which is not recommended), right click the Oblivion.exe either in the Install folder or on your desktop, click properties, navigate to the "Compatibility" tab, and tick the checkbox next to "Run this program as an administrator".
- Download a mod you want to install either through NMM or manually. (How to download mods)
- NMM-Installation: First make sure NMM (Nexus Mod Manager) is installed. Then simply double-click the mod in the "Mods" tab of NMM after it has finished downloading your mod. It will now begin to install your mod. If you are updating a mod you already have, it will prompt you if you want to update or install separately - what to choose here will vary from mod to mod, so be sure to read the installation instructions of each mod! Once it is installed, you can manage the load order in the "Plugins" tab, where you can simply drag-and-drop the esp to change the load order. If the mod has no esp/esm, it won't appear in the "plugins" tab, but don't worry, it is still installed. if the mod has a esp/esm, be sure to activate it by ticking the checkbox next to it in the plugins tab.
- OBMM-Installation: Once the mod is downloaded, open OBMM, and click 'Create' in the bottom of the window. A new window called 'omod creator' will appear. Click 'Add archive', navigate to the folder where you downloaded the archive, and double click it. (This may take a while, depending on how big the archive is). Once that is done, you can add a name to the mod, version number, and author in the text boxes in the omod creator. Once done, click 'Create omod' at the bottom right of the window.
After it's done loading and decompressing, a window will pop up and tell you it is done, just click OK. In the main OBMM window there will now be two parts. The left part lists all your active mods and the right part lists mods you have installed. You will see your mod in the right list with a green square. The green square means it's inactive. Click the mod to highlight it and press activate. The square should turn blue and appear in the left list. Tick the checkbox next to the mod in the left list. - Manual Installation: Download and install 7zip. Once you have downloaded the mod, open the archive (.7z, .zip or .rar) with 7zip, and click extract. Extract the files so that the files (esp, bsa, etc.) and the folders (meshes, textures, sounds, etc.) are in the Oblivion data folder (\Games\Bethesda Softworks\Oblivion\Data). Activate the mod through your preferred launcher by ticking the checkbox next to the esp/esm.
- NMM-Installation: First make sure NMM (Nexus Mod Manager) is installed. Then simply double-click the mod in the "Mods" tab of NMM after it has finished downloading your mod. It will now begin to install your mod. If you are updating a mod you already have, it will prompt you if you want to update or install separately - what to choose here will vary from mod to mod, so be sure to read the installation instructions of each mod! Once it is installed, you can manage the load order in the "Plugins" tab, where you can simply drag-and-drop the esp to change the load order. If the mod has no esp/esm, it won't appear in the "plugins" tab, but don't worry, it is still installed. if the mod has a esp/esm, be sure to activate it by ticking the checkbox next to it in the plugins tab.
- You have now installed a mod. Congratulations!
